Mumbai beat ordinary Pune

Mumbai Indians 124 for 3 (Rayudu 37, Tendulkar 35) beat

Pune Warriors 118 (Uthappa 45, Munaf 3-8, Nechim 2-13, Murtaza 2-18) by seven wickets 

Hosts Mumbai Indians survived some anxious moments before completing a seven-wicket win over weak-willed Pune Warriors India in their Indian Premier League match at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday. For Pune Warriors this was their second consecutive defeat after losing the last match against Delhi Daredevils by three wickets.

With a clinical bowling in display, the home team bundled out Warriors for 118 in 17.2 overs - their lowest so far this season. Mumbai Indians lost only James Franklin (6), Sachin Tendulkar (35) and Ambati Rayudu (37) in a lopsided game.

After losing Franklin, Sachin and Rayudu added 74 runs for the second-wicket to ensure an easy chase for their team. However, Rahul Sharma struck in the 14th over to get rid of Sachin, trying to go over long-off. The master batsman was dismissed for the first time in 2011 IPL after not out scores of 46, 55 and 100 in three previous matches. In-form Rayudu soon followed trying to finish the proceedings in a hurry.

Mumbai made a heavy weather of the chase but unbeaten Rohit Sharma (20) and Andrew Symonds (16) ensured their side home in a last-ball thriller. Rohit clobbered a huge six over extra-cover in the last ball to ease some unsettling nerves at Wankhede.

This was Mumbai's third win in four games after losing their previous encounter against Kochi Tuskers Kerala by eight wickets.

Abu Nechim, playing his first game of the season, and Munaf Patel rocked high-flying Pune Warriors early as the visitors folded for 118 on a hard and dry wicket at Wankhede.

Electing to bat first, Pune Warriors lost their four top-order batsmen, including skipper Yuvraj Singh, with only 17 runs on the board. Robin Uthappa was the only top-order batsman to offer some resistance, scoring 45 runs off 37 balls with six fours and a six. Kieron Pollard took a stunning catch at long-on off Ali Murtaza to end his short vigil.

Nechim did the early damage when he removed in-form opener Jesse Ryder (12) and Mithun Manhas (0) before paceman Munaf Patel accounted for Tim Paine (2) and Yuvraj Singh (0) to reduce the hosts to 17-4 in the opening five overs.

Murtaza added to the Pune' misery, by claiming their last recognised batsman in Mohnish Mishra when the right-hander miscued one for a simple catch to Rohit Sharma at long-on. Mumbai bowlers continued to press their advantage and the visitors obliged losing wickets at regular intervals.

Munaf was the most successful bowler for Mumbai ending the match with figures of three for 8 in 2.2 overs. Nechim, Lasith Malinga and Murtaza claimed two wickets apiece to rattle debutants Pune Warriors, who never looked comfortable at the crease.

Kochi silence Mumbai's roar

Kochi Tuskers Kerala 184 for 2 (McCullum 81, Jayawardene 56) beat 
Mumbai Indians 182 for 2 (Tendulkar 100*, Rayudu 53) by eight wickets

Two weeks ago, the crowd at the Wankhede was delirious though a fervently anticipated Sachin Tendulkar century didn't materialize. On Friday, the same crowd went home dejected despite Tendulkar crafting his first Twenty20 century, as Kochi Tuskers Kerala busted their party with one of the most memorable chases in IPL history.

Two of the world's finest Twenty20 batsmen, Brendon McCullum and Mahela Jayawardene, constructed chalk-and-cheese half-centuries to power Kochi's pursuit of 183. Both perished to Lasith Malinga's deadly deliveries but Kochi, who had stumbled in the final stretch of their first two games, didn't slip up this time as Ravindra Jadeja and Brad Hodge muscled boundaries to finish the game with an over to spare.

Tendulkar's effort checked off another item on his ever-shrinking to-do list, and Mumbai ran up a tall total without needing contributions from Rohit Sharma, Andrew Symonds and Kieron Pollard. It was then assumed that the bowlers would make the rest of the game a formality, but McCullum firmly put that assumption to rest by muscling three boundaries between mid-off and cover in Malinga's second over. The next big jump came in the sixth over from Pollard as McCullum swatted a four past midwicket and Jayawardene eased boundaries behind square on either side of the wicket.

The Mumbai fielding made things worse for the home team. Rohit Sharma dropped McCullum at first slip off the first ball, and Jayawardene was given a life by Ali Murtuza at backward point.

McCullum kept skating out of the crease and lashing the ball through the off side right through his innings, while Jayawardene was content shuffling across and using the bowler's pace, rarely powering the ball. The difference between the two batsmen's innings was highlighted in the ninth over as McCullum smashed the first ball over long-off, and Jayawardene reverse-paddled the fifth ball off the back of the bat for four.

With dew making it difficult for the bowlers to grip the ball, both batsmen kept picking off the boundaries. Kochi were in command by the 14th over as they moved to 128 for 0 when Jayawardene deftly poked a Malinga delivery past the keeper towards a delighted Kochi dug-out. Next ball, Malinga removed Jayawardene with a yorker which prompted a surprise promotion for Jadeja. McCullum, though, kept Kochi on top with a couple of scythed boundaries in the 17th over that worsened Pollard's evening.

With 27 needed off three overs, and nine wickets in hand, Mumbai gambled by bringing on Malinga for his final over. He delivered by bowling McCullum first ball, but Hodge eased Kochi's anxieties with two walloped boundaries off the rest of the over. Jadeja, who has received plenty of criticism over the past two years, then justified his promotion with a couple of swiped sixes off Murtaza Ali to finish off Mumbai with an over to go.

It was the Kochi's franchise first IPL win and Mumbai's first defeat of the season, a result few predicted after Tendulkar had combined power and placement to reach a memorable century. It, however, came after a nervy start: Tendulkar was nearly run out on 0, umpire Paul Reiffel turned down two lbw appeals from Vinay Kumar which should have been given. There was also a close call for caught behind, and an outside edge off Thisara Perera that just beat the keeper.

Mumbai made relatively sedate progress, reaching 57 in eight overs before losing Davy Jacobs. The in-form Ambati Rayudu immediately took charge, blasting two sixes off Raiphi Gomez. A series of powerfully hit straight boundaries took him to 44, when the partnership had realised 64.

The final five overs turned into a Tendulkar show as he plundered 45 runs. Tendulkar showed how he could finesse the ball or force it depending on his mood: in the 16th over, a short ball on legstump was helped over fine leg for six, and a length ball outside off was pummelled over long-on for six more as 20 came off the over. A helicopter shot for four and a slugged six over midwicket took him to 90 after 19 overs.

Tendulkar proceeded to paddle a four past short fine leg, and bludgeon another past long-on before reaching his ton with a push to cover off the final delivery of the innings. The decibel levels shot up in the stands, but it was a muted celebration from Tendulkar himself on reaching the milestone.

Neither he nor the crowd were celebrating at the end of the game. One of the bigger worries for a formidable Mumbai unit was how dependent their attack was on Malinga's form, something they will have to address after losing despite a solid batting effort.

Sachin, Rayudu & solid bowling performance guide MI home

Mumbai Indians 143 for 1 (Tendulkar 51*, Rayudu 62*) beat
Bangalore Royal Challengers 140 for 4 (Dilshan 59*, Pollard 2-25, Malinga 2-32) by 5 wickets

Sachin Tendulkar, the controller, and Ambati Rayudu, the enforcer, made short work of the below-par target to give Mumbai their second successive win of the tournament. However, it was with the bat that Bangalore lost the game tonight. It was a strange innings as Bangalore were in consolidation mode for most of the time after they slipped to 19 for 2 and meandered their way to 140. 

There was no such hesitation shown by Mumbai in the chase. Every time Bangalore tried a new bowler, Tendulkar and Rayudu lashed out. When Abhimanyu Mithun was introduced in the sixth over, Tendulkar showcased his gorgeous straight drive and Rayudu swatted a bouncer and creamed through wide mid-off. When Tillakaratne Dilshan came on in the 10th over, Tendulkar deployed the slog sweep and the conventional sweep to collect more boundaries. When Asad Pathan was brought in the 12th over, Rayudu crash-pulled the first delivery to midwicket boundary and when Virat Kohli returned for a second spell, in the 13th over, Tendulkar smote him to the straight boundary. 

Mumbai's batsmen reserved their best for Zaheer Khan, whose awful night mirrored Bangalore's in many ways. Davy Jacobs flatbatted a stunning a six over long-on in the fourth ball of the chase and sandwiched fours over covers and long-off with a lovely whippy six over midwicket in Zaheer's next over. When Zaheer returned for a second spell, Rayudu cut him to point boundary, slammed a full toss to midwicket and lofted him to the long-on boundary. 

Mumbai's approach couldn't have been more contrasting than that of Bangalore. Tillakaratne Dilshan hit a fifty but it felt like an imposter was wearing his jersey. AB de Villiers made 38 but never looked like he would hurt the opposition. "It's a difficult track to bat; there is spongy bounce and AB (de Villiers) and I thought 140 would be a good score," Dilshan said at the end of the innings. He couldn't have been more wrong, at least tonight. 

The ball didn't appear to stop on the batsmen, there wasn't any alarming turn but they struggled to get going. Mumbai's night was set up by Lasith Malinga with a brute of a first ball. It was full, it was pacy and it curved away devilishly late to go past the stunned Mayank Agarwal and knock out off stump. Next, Malinga pinged Virat Kohli on the boot with another screaming yorker, but it was not given. Kohli fell soon after, top-edging his trademark on-side heave to the keeper. It was the beginning of the crawl. 

Dilshan tried to punch his way out of trouble but rarely found the timing or the gaps. de Villiers also played within himself and the pair started concentrating on singles. de Villiers fell in the 17th over, top-edging a slog against Pollard and that paved way for Saurabh Tiwary to free his arms. He flat-batted Malinga over extra cover and heaved Harbhajan to cow corner. Dilshan woke up in the last over to slap Malinga for six over midwicket as Mumbai finished on a mini-high but it was too little too late.

Lasith Malinga blows Delhi away & made Easy win to Mumbai

Mumbai Indians 99 for 2 (Tendulkar 46*) beat Delhi Daredevils 95 (Malinga 5-13) by eight wickets

When batsmen face Lasith Malinga, they know what's coming at them: several yorkers, some low full tosses, the odd slower ball. Some might not swing but everything will be aimed at the stumps. Knowledge wasn't power for Delhi Daredevils' batsmen, though, as Malinga ripped through them in two spells, claiming the third-best figures in the IPL. His five-wicket haul helped shoot out Delhi for 95, their second-lowest total, and ruin the contest before the sun had set at the Feroz Shah Kotla.

Malinga's performance allowed the Mumbai batsmen to chase in comfortable gear. Davy Jacobs' first stint as Sachin Tendulkar's opening partner was ended early by Morne Morkel and Roelof van der Merwe ran out Ambati Rayudu with a scintillating intercept, slide, turnaround and direct hit from extra cover, but that was it for Delhi. Tendulkar could not be dismissed and without the pressure of a high asking-rate he steered Mumbai to an eight-wicket victory with 19 balls to spare. In a format engineered to produce the exciting finish, this was a mismatch from the fifth over.

Delhi's strength was their top order and in Virender Sehwag and David Warner they possessed the most explosive openers of the tournament. Sehwag began aggressively by launching his first delivery, off Harbhajan Singh, miles in the air only for the ball to fall short of the straight boundary and plug in the outfield. He improved on that attempt the next ball, clearing long-off by a considerable distance, forcing Harbhajan to bowl quicker and flatter.

Enter Malinga, who had been retained by Mumbai, and he re-emphasised his value in no time at all. With his second ball, a pinpoint yorker, Malinga breached Warner's defences. With his fourth, a fast and straight delivery, he hit Unmukt Chand's middle stump.

Chand made the novice error of playing across the line to a Malinga arrow, a mistake Sehwag had committed in the World Cup final. Today Sehwag was watchful, defending Malinga with a straight bat when the line demanded it, but opening the face to guide to the third-man boundary when the width allowed it. He played out the 2011 IPL's first maiden over, seeing off Malinga's second without damage, and set himself to take on the rest of the bowlers.

That did not come to pass, though, for in the fifth over Aaron Finch came down the pitch to Ali Murtaza's left-arm spin, worked the ball off his pads towards short fine leg, and continued running. Sehwag hesitated and then responded, but was beaten by Tendulkar's direct hit. He had swooped on the ball with the agility of a much younger man. It was the decisive moment of the game. Finch did not last long either, slog-sweeping Harbhajan to deep-backward square leg, leaving Delhi on 40 for 4.

Naman Ojha, whose 29 was Delhi's top score, showed a semblance of resistance but his dismissal - caught on the long-off boundary - hastened the end of the innings. Irfan Pathan, bought for $1.9 million and playing his first competitive match in a year, was run out first ball.

And then Malinga returned, and inevitably the yorkers followed. He bowled Venugopal Rao with one, broke Morne Morkel's bat with another before dismissing him with a third next ball. Malinga finished with 5 for 13 - the fifth came with a slower ball - leaving his team with a straightforward chase.